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On Nov. 7, 1991, Magic Johnson announced at a press conferences his retirement after being diagnosed as HIV positive.

There still are stories that bring chuckles because, well, guys are guys and even if our brains are lifted from the gutter, we never really get them out of the locker room. So, there's the one about the rookie who brought his "girlfriend" to NBA All-Star weekend and introduced her to some veteran players â€” who already knew her well because she was an established league groupie.

And there's the one about the NBA player on the road who, when hotel personnel suggested that he check into his room under an alias, declared, "Alias? Any girl wants to come up to my room, send her up!"

There's also the old joke, which goes, "What's the hardest thing about going on the road? Trying not to smile when you kiss your wife goodbye."

That last line comes from the autobiography of Magic Johnson. Yeah. Kind of knocks the grin off your face, doesn't it?

It was 15 years ago this week that Johnson announced he was HIV-positive.
Since then, he has become a bustling businessman and TV analyst while changing perceptions and raising awareness in the fight against HIV and AIDS. In most places, at least. One place where his lesson has gone generally unheeded: the very NBA locker rooms he once inhabited.